House approves $9.7B in Sandy flood aid

Jan. 4, 2013

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio holds up a gavel in the House chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) / AP

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WASHINGTON —

More than two months after Hurricane Sandy began pounding New York and New Jersey, Congress approved $9.7 billion on Friday to pay flood insurance claims related to the storm.

The House vote was 354-67, with all the “no” votes coming from Republicans. The Senate later approved the money by voice vote, sending the bill to President Barack Obama for signing.

Northeast lawmakers hope the $9.7 billion is just the first installment toward a total $60 billion in federal assistance for victims of the Oct. 29 storm that left 120 dead and thousands homeless. The House is expected to consider the remaining funds in two parts on Jan. 15.

“This bill is a first step,” Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York said. “It’s the easiest part. The hard stuff is still ahead of us.”

Schumer said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has assured him the remaining Sandy aid will be the first item the Senate takes up after reconvening Jan. 22.

The legislation approved Friday does not include money for public transportation systems, emergency highway aid, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects or Community Development Block Grants, which are used to rebuild public buildings and property not covered by flood insurance.

The flood insurance money is urgently needed because the National Flood Insurance Program run out of money by Monday unless Congress approved additional borrowing authority, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a joint statement calling the money approved Friday “just a down payment.”

“It is now time to go even further and pass the final and more complete, clean disaster aid bill,” they said.

Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey said bill would provide “some welcome — albeit needlessly delayed — news” for people of his state.

Nearly 140,000 flooding claims related to Sandy have been filed so far, and $1.7 billion has been paid out. Further delay would have delayed payments on more than 115,000 claims, according to FEMA.

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In New Jersey, more than 63,000 claims were at risk of being delayed, according to Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg.

“The flood insurance measure will continue to help New Jersey families and businesses, but the real heavy lifting in the House remains,” Lautenberg said.

The Senate voted last week, during the 112th Congress, to approve $60.4 billion in disaster relief for Sandy victims, but that vote became void when the 113th Congress took office at noon on Thursday.

Lawmakers from New Jersey and New York had pushed for the House to approve the Senate bill earlier in the week in order to avoid starting over.

They were incensed when House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio delayed a vote on the measure. After enduring withering criticism for the decision — including accusations from Christie that “toxic internal politics” among Republicans was to blame — Boehner announced Friday’s vote and the promise of further action on Jan. 15.

Democratic Rep. Rob Andrews of New Jersey called it “inexcusable and unjust” and urged House leaders to pre-negotiate a bill that could pass both chambers quickly.

“The House taking up the bill on January 15th is lovely. It is also utterly meaningless if the other body does not act,” he said.

Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said he voted against the bill approved Friday because it would raise the National Flood Insurance Program’s borrowing limit without a plan to pay for it — and without reforms to safeguard the program for the future.

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“Instead of writing another blank check, we should have used this bill as an opportunity to strengthen the program to protect people from future floods that we know will come,” he said.

The conservative Club for Growth had urged members to vote against the measure, saying the federal government should not be involved in the flood insurance industry in the first place.

Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who had been his party’s nominee for vice president, voted against the measure.

Schumer said Republican complaints that the flood insurance program needs reform are “terribly harsh to a homeowner who lost his whole life.”

“Should they sit around and wait two years... until we reform the program?” he asked.

Republican Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey, who voted for the bill, said Sandy victims have been getting their flood insurance claims paid.

“We are just here today to make sure that those payments continue going forward,” he said.

FEMA officials said about 55,800 flood insurance claims had been received from New York through Jan. 3, and more than $956 million had been paid in settlements.

In New Jersey, more than 346,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed in the storm. A total 72,397 claims have been filed by homeowners covered by the National Flood Insurance Program, said Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey.

“Thus far, only 18 percent have received funds pursuant to their claims,” he said. “Over 80 percent of my constituents who have filed claims are waiting in limbo and in an intolerable situation that is making a bad situation worse.”